Apocalypse: King of Zombies

These bats might look terrifying, but they’re not actually that strong. With Brandon’s skills, taking them out was no problem.

The aircraft dropped fast, slicing through the air as a rain of bat corpses fell around it.

But what caught everyone off guard was how relentless the bats were. They didn’t retreat, didn’t hesitate. They just kept coming until every last one of them was dead. Only then did the chaos finally start to die down.

With a mechanical hiss, the aircraft’s hatch slid open on both sides.

The air outside was thick with the stench of blood. The ground was littered with shredded bat remains—some still twitching, not quite dead yet.

Ethan gave the scene a quick scan. Thanks to his zombie-enhanced senses, he could tell right away—these things weren’t ”fresh meat.” They weren’t even truly alive.

Chris frowned, confused. ”What the hell’s up with these things? They didn’t even try to run. Even animals know when to bail.”

”They’re not animals,” Ethan said flatly. ”Not really.”

”Huh?”

Everyone turned to him, startled.

Just then, Elara stepped off the ship, pulled out a small knife, and expertly dissected one of the bats. She removed a chunk of tissue and placed it into a handheld analyzer she carried with her.

”These things don’t fall under the category of living organisms,” she explained. ”They’re infected with a mutated zombie virus. Technically speaking, they’re zombie beasts.”

”Zombie beasts? Well, that explains a lot…”

The group nodded in understanding. That fearless, suicidal aggression? Classic zombie behavior.

Elara continued, ”This mutated strain is even more infectious than the standard zombie virus. It’s similar to the Rabies Zombie strain we’ve seen before. If one of these bites you, there’s a high chance you’ll turn.”

”Shit…” Chris sucked in a sharp breath. Just hearing ”Rabies Zombie” was enough to make his skin crawl—those things had terrorized the shelters more than once.

That strain wasn’t just highly contagious—it came with nasty side effects. Like heightened senses, especially smell.

”Miss Elara,” Chris asked, ”do we know what this bat strain does to people once they’re infected?”

”Not yet. We don’t have enough samples to run a full analysis. Unless…”

”Unless what? Just say the word, I’ll make it happen,” Chris offered, all bravado.

Elara adjusted her glasses. ”Unless we do a human trial. Inject the virus into someone and observe the results. That’d give us all the answers.”

”Uh… yeah, maybe let’s not rush into that,” Chris backpedaled fast.

Meanwhile, Mia, Brandon, and the others were scanning the area. First rule of landing in unknown territory: assess your surroundings.

They quickly realized they were deep in a dense forest. Towering ancient trees—easily over thirty feet tall—loomed all around them. Just looking up made your stomach drop, like standing at the edge of a cliff.

The sky was overcast, and the thick canopy above blocked out most of the light. The forest floor was dim, shadows stretching in every direction. A gust of wind howled through the trees, sounding eerily like distant cries or ghostly wails. It sent a chill down everyone’s spine.

”Looks like we’ve landed in a primeval forest,” Brandon muttered.

Mia nodded. ”Yeah, Dr. Morgan mentioned that Tasmania’s mostly uninhabited. Huge parts of the island are covered in forest—it’s a haven for wildlife. So landing in the woods makes sense.”

”Which means we’re probably not dealing with a massive zombie horde here,” Brandon said, narrowing his eyes. ”More like a jungle full of mutated beasts.”

Right then, a rustling sound echoed from deep within the forest. Faint hissing and screeches followed, barely audible but definitely there.

”Seriously? Again?” Mia groaned, turning to Ethan. ”What is it this time?”

”A lot of things,” Ethan replied, his voice low. ”All kinds of mutated creatures. I can sense hundreds of them nearby. They’re circling us, testing the perimeter. And it’s not just animals—some of the plants are mutated too.”

Elara sniffed the air. The metallic tang of blood from the bat massacre still lingered heavily.

”Mutated beasts are insanely sensitive to the smell of blood,” she said. ”They can pick it up from miles away. With the stench this strong, we’ve basically rung the dinner bell.”

”Okay, yeah, let’s get the hell out of here,” Chris said, suddenly very motivated. The last thing he wanted was to get swarmed by a horde of mutant wildlife before even seeing a single zombie.

They didn’t waste any time. The group moved out fast.

The mutated beasts that had gathered didn’t attack. Maybe they were wary. Or maybe they were just sizing each other up.

Predators, after all, know when to wait. Hidden in the underbrush, they watched.

Because the forest was so overgrown—thick branches, tangled vines, waist-high weeds—there wasn’t anything even close to a path. So Mia took the lead, wielding her Stellar Fang katana. Whenever a tree blocked the way, she sliced through it. Rocks? Split in two. She carved a trail through the wilderness with sheer force, step by step.

Ethan, bringing up the rear, could feel it—about half a mile behind them, a few mutated beasts were tailing them. Quiet, careful, but persistent. They’d been following ever since the bat massacre, tracking the group all the way here.

Apparently, the scent of fresh human flesh was just too tempting to pass up. These things weren’t giving up. They were waiting for the right moment to strike.

Ethan didn’t bother turning back to deal with them. No point. He’d just wait until they showed themselves—then take them out without breaking stride.

In a forest this dense and wild, being stalked by mutated beasts was just part of the deal. There were too many to kill them all. Even if you wiped out one group, another would show up soon enough.

”Man, there’s so many mutated beasts here,” Brandon said, brushing aside a branch. ”Looks like we won’t be running out of food anytime soon.”

”Yeah,” Chris added, chuckling. ”Usually when we’re out on missions, we’re starving half to death. This is the first time we’ve had a buffet waiting for us.”

He paused, then frowned. ”Although… I wonder if any of these beasts have evolved intelligence. Like, what if there’s some kind of beast king ruling this place?”

Brandon shot him a look. ”Dude. Seriously? Don’t jinx it.”

Elara, walking just behind Mia for safety, chimed in, ”Actually, that kind of makes sense. If there are this many mutated beasts here, then the Radiant Crystal we’re looking for probably isn’t in this area.”

”Right,” Mia nodded. ”Too many beasts means no parasites. If the crystal were nearby, we’d be seeing parasite creatures instead.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. It made sense.

Wherever the Radiant Crystal was, parasite monsters usually showed up first. They’d have already taken over the local wildlife.

”Wait,” Brandon said, a thought hitting him. ”If there’s this much food here, wouldn’t that make this place a paradise for parasites too?”

The group went quiet.

Tasmania was crawling with life—probably billions of creatures across the island. If parasites were here, and breeding at their usual insane rate… the kind of monster horde that could create was hard to even imagine.

”Yeah…” Chris muttered. ”Let’s not go there.”

They’d only just landed, and already they’d uncovered a lot: a mutated zombie virus, parasite creatures, mutated beasts… and probably some deep-sea horrors that had made landfall too.

This island was a deathtrap.

And that was just the surface. Who knew what else was lurking deeper inland?

The group moved cautiously, voices low, eyes scanning the shadows. But Ethan, walking at the back, suddenly noticed something strange.

The forest had gone quiet.

Too quiet.

Even the usual rustling of insects and small critters had stopped. The mutated beasts that had been following them? They’d frozen in place. Not retreating, not advancing—just… stopped. Like something had spooked them. Badly.

They wouldn’t step a foot further.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. He scanned the trees, the underbrush, the shadows between the trunks.

Something was off.

”Everyone,” he said quietly, his voice low and tense, ”stay sharp. Something’s not right…”

...